FEBRUARY 1967: THE DOORS RECORD "MY EYES HAVE SEEN YOU" AND DEBUT ON TV

About a month after the release of their first LP, "The Doors” (January 1967), The Doors returned to the recording studio to put on vinyl the first song of what will be their second album, "Strange Days" (September 1967).

In early February '67, an afternoon studio session produced "My Eyes Have Seen You": a great Rock tune that would later become the third to last track on “Strange Days”.

This track had already been in the group's repertoire for some time, being one of the demos recorded during the first steps taken by the still incomplete lineup in September 1965. The direct and aggressive atmosphere of this composition outlines a highly remarkable musical experience, with Morrison's vocals to make it even more engaging and exciting.

It is unclear whether at this time in 1967 a decision had already been made regarding the recording of a second LP. Maybe the intention behind this studio session was to produce the A-side or B-side of a single instead.

However, the resulting work represents a step forward from the previous album ("The Doors") because of the complexity of its arrangement, the number of instruments played in it and the distortions used.

"My Eyes Have Seen You" anticipates the main recording sessions of "Strange Days" by about three months, and this circumstance significantly affects the final version of the song. In fact, in “My Eyes Have Seen You” one can notice how the psychedelic vibes that markedly characterize almost all the rest of the “Strange Days” LP are less intense.

After all, by February ‘67 the band's sound was still tied more closely to the first LP, which, unlike "Strange Days", still didn’t show The Doors entry into psychedelia.

This is also confirmed by the quartet's first two television appearances, which also took place in February 1967. In both of them the song chosen for the short performances is "Break On Through (To The Other Side)", that is the first single taken from "The Doors".

Curiosity: in the second one of the two TV appearances, on Feb. 25, 1967, the performance of the song just mentioned is lip-synched.

Therefore, The Doors were not yet intent on the creative musical and instrumental research that would lead to the psychedelic atmospheres of "Strange Days" because they were still busy promoting the newly released first album.

In addition, this month saw them play about 15 concerts between Los Angeles and San Francisco (one every other day), of which unfortunately no recording of any kind is available.

February 1967 was a relevant month for the Doors. They were busy recording a new song (“My Eyes Have Seen You”), participating in their first two television appearances and playing live almost every night.

The band was slowly gaining momentum; fame was just around the corner and work on the new album "Strange Days" was already underway with a standout track.